MOLINE, Ill. – The Augustana baseball team battled Wheaton at home on Wednesday, defeating the Thunder 11-1 in seven innings.
The Thunder jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with an RBI single but saw three runs in response from the Vikings in the bottom side of the frame. The scoring surge began with both Cole Green and Alex Simon reaching base before being brought in by Matt Ozanic's double to right field. Two at-bats later, Dymitri Kanellakis launched an RBI double to the left-center to move the Vikings ahead 3-1. Starter Brian Fischer tossed a scoreless second inning prior to the Vikings tacking on their fourth run in their second effort at the plate. Following a single from Green, Ozanic secured his second RBI of the game to extend Augie's advantage to three.
Neither team found success in a brief third inning, but Fischer worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth to keep Wheaton at just the one run. The Vikings tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend their lead, set up by an Ozanic walk and Kanellakis infield single to put runners in scoring position. Chase Maifield belted a single to right field to score Ozanic before Michael Aragon hit an RBI single to the same spot to move Augie ahead 6-1. Augustana's final run of the inning came via a Zachary Vrbancic sacrifice fly to center to bring in Maifield from third.
Jacob Reusch entered the game in the sixth, swiftly striking out two Thunder batters in a three-up, three-down effort. Augie plated four runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game in run-rule territory, starting with Simon and Ozanic reaching base on a hit by pitch and a walk. Following a Kanellakis RBI single to score Simon, Ozanic darted home on a passed ball to record Augustana's ninth run on the board. A pitching change ensued, resulting in an immediate hit by pitch to put Alec McGinnis on base before Maifield trotted home on a balk to go up 10-1. McGinnis later scored in the same at-bat due to a wild pitch, bringing the Vikings' lead to double figures. Reusch ended the game with three consecutive strikeouts in the top of the seventh to cap off the win.
Brian Fischer earned his first win of the season after tossing five innings and striking out three batters. Augie had a total of seven hits from five different players, led by two apiece from Ozanic and Kanellakis. Ozanic also added a game-high three runs batted in.
With the win, the Vikings improve to 19-6 overall and 4-2 in conference. The team will remain home for a doubleheader against the Carthage Firebirds on Friday, April 14. Start time for game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Swanson Stadium.
